Hello, and welcome to tonight’s liveblog.
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the game. E-mail paul@the42.ie, tweet @the42_ie, post a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.
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Kick off for the game is at 8pm.
Confirmation of tonight’s teams…
Team to face Arsenal: Courtois; Azpilicueta (c), Christensen, Rudiger; Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Drinkwater, Alonso; Hazard, Morata. #CHEARS pic.twitter.com/jbcvsjsgXG
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 10, 2018
🚨 TEAM NEWS 🚨#CFCvAFC pic.twitter.com/V7uEqX9Hlh
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 10, 2018
We’re under way…
Half chance for Chelsea early on.
Morata is played into space but his shot from a tight angle hits the side netting.
Arsene Wenger has taken his seat in the press box at Chelsea - trust he has been well briefed on the etiquette of never celebrating a goal or showing any favouritism.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) January 10, 2018
Chelsea have started this game on the front foot.
Hazard, in particular, is looking sharp.
Chelsea continue to dominate possession and territory.
Arsenal have looked relatively solid defensively so far though.
Arsenal are coming into this game more now.
As I type, Wilshere plays a lovely through ball to Lacazette, but the striker swings wildly at the ball and his finish is off target.
Moses’ powerful shot is gathered by Ospina at the second attempt.
Fabregas was on hand for a tap in there if the goalkeeper did not react quickly to his initial error.
After a surging run by Kante, Alonso’s shot deflects out for a corner.
Without being full of goalmouth action, this has been an intriguing game to watch.
As I type, Moses finds space down the right and his shot is parried away by Ospina.
Mustafi gets on the end of a corner but his header is well off target.
Arsenal have been pretty poor in the final third so far.
Fabregas sets up Kante on the edge of the area, but the France international blasts his shot over.
This game has not quite had the intensity of the recent Premier League match between the sides.
There was a penalty claim with Maitland-Niles going down under a challenge from Moses.
The referee subsequently consulted the VAR and opted not to give a penalty.
There appeared to be minimal contact, so it looked like the right call.
Hazard can’t quite properly get hold of a flick-on from Fabregas.
The Belgian international has looked lively tonight whenever he’s got the ball, but Chelsea have struggled to get him into the game consistently.
Possibly the best chance of the game so far.
Azpilicueta picks out Fabregas with a lovely pass, but the Spaniard’s header is straight at Ospina.
HALF-TIME: CHELSEA 0-0 ARSENAL
The second half has begun…
Chance for Chelsea!
Christensen gets on the end of a flicked-on cross, but heads over.
Rudiger wins the ball in midfield and charges forward, before being hacked down cynically by Xhaka, who receives a booking as a result.
Chelsea have started the second half strongly.
Chelsea are looking more threatening now.
Morata has just parried away a strong shot by Morata.
Some disappointing scenes for Arsenal fans’ perspective. Jack Wilshere, who looked impressive in the first half, goes down injured and is replaced by Elneny.
Moments later, Morata shrugs off a challenge by Mustafi, before his shot from a tight angle finds the side netting.
Arsenal make another change, and it’s a pretty significant one.
Lacazette is replaced by Alexis Sanchez.
The ball falls to Moses and his shot is deflected over.
From the ensuing corner, Christensen heads wide as Ospina comes for the ball and fails to claim it.
Chelsea then make an attacking change with Willian replacing Drinkwater.
Iwobi bursts forward in a rare Arsenal attack.
However, he fails to test Courtois, as he mis-hits the ensuing shot.
Willian shoots from distance, but Ospina saves with relative ease.
Are we destined for a 0-0 draw?
For all Chelsea’s dominance, they have created few clear-cut chances.
Sanchez overhits a free kick.
You get the feeling Arsenal will be the happier of the two sides if the result stays the same.
Chelsea make an interesting change.
Hazard is replaced by Bakayoko.
Alexis Sanchez has a wonderful way of very deliberately not playing passes to certain teammates doesn't he?
— Michael Cox (@Zonal_Marking) January 10, 2018
After a first half that was intriguing at times, this game has really petered out.
Chelsea make another change, as Batshuayi replaces Morata.
As I type though, a Fabregas shot deflects off the post.
Another VAR decision and again, no penalty is given.
Fabregas goes down under a challenge from Welbeck, but it’s a good call, as replays show the Arsenal player clearly got the ball.
There will be five added minutes…
FULL-TIME: CHELSEA 0-0 ARSENAL
That’s all from me for tonight.
You can read our report of the game here.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
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